Fire and agriculture drive soil degradation in the southern Brazilian Amazon

Frequent forest fires and agricultural expansion are degrading soil health in the southern Brazilian Amazon. This results in lasting damage to carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks, as well as to the overall functionality of ecosystem soils. These findings are presented in a study conducted by researchers from Brazil, the United States, and the United Kingdom at the Tanguro Research Station, located in the transition zone between the Amazon Rainforest and the Cerrado (the Brazilian savanna-like biome), in the Amazonian Arc of Deforestation.